Page 9 of Something Old

And I kissed Masaccio Vece -and he kissed me back.

That means he likes me.

I wonder why he didn’t want to take my phone number.

Maybe he was just being cautious. It’s the right thing to do. Maybe I should be cautious too. I can’t just go around messaging him whenever I feel like it - I have a sneaky feeling dad is tracking my phone. It wouldn’t surprise me, considering how controlling he is.

Taking a deep breath in and letting it out with a happy, dreamy smile on my face, I throw the blankets off me and hop out of bed.

Oh, my word.

I am so in love with that man.

We kissed.

I want to tell everyone. But that would be a terrible idea.

I can’t wait to see him again. Even if we have to date in secret. It will be worth it. I would do anything for him. He’s my dream man.

I skip down the stairs and into the kitchen to make a coffee.

It’s a bit later than I expected it to be. I guess I slept off what would have been the hangover, so I can’t complain about that.

“Daddy?” I call out into the house while I’m making my coffee. But there is no reply.

He must be in the West wing, or maybe out somewhere already.

I press the button on the coffee machine, and it shoots rich dark coffee into my mug, followed by a creamy froth of milk.

I love starting my day with a cup of coffee, but it has to be made right.

Daddy doesn’t drink coffee, but he got this coffee machine for me anyway and I went on a fun little barista course to learn how to use it. So did the house staff - just in case I ask one of them to make me a coffee.

I carry my mug out onto the patio, blinking against the warm morning sunlight. It feels brighter than usual. Maybe I do have a teeny tiny hangover.

I don’t care though. I’m so happy.

“Poppet. You’re awake. Good. I need to talk to you.”

My father steps through the patio doors and walks towards me.

“Morning daddy. Did you have a nice evening last night?” I ask.

“Mm. Not really. I spent it with the family accountant, going over the financial records.” He says in a stressed tone.

“Is that bad?” I ask, feeling a little anxious because of his demeanor. I put my coffee down on the nearby table and turn my attention towards him.

He’s going to tell me I can’t get that new Lexus I’ve had my eye on. He always starts these dramatic sounding conversations about money - and then tells me I can’t have something I want.

“Listen, Poppet.” He clears his throat and swallows hard as though his mouth is dry. Then he sits down on the outside sofa and pulls me down to sit next to him. “Leora, I lost a large portion of my territory last week. I was trying to save it, but I couldn’t. It’s gone. The whole stretch along the docks. Right by the shipping yards. Valuable land. It went to a rival family. Now I am about to lose my two warehouses on the other side of the docks and if that happens, I won’t have any space that allows me to ship products out—” I’m not sure what to say.

He sighs and presses his fingers into his eyes as though he has a headache.

“I’m sure you can fix it daddy. You always fix things.” I say.

I reach out and touch his knee, trying to comfort him.

“No, not this time. This time I had to make some tough decisions. And it’s a decision that involves you.”

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